The night had come swiftly, the crew falling under its soft spell. Kahlo had retired to the captain's quarters, after the body had been dealt with, of course. She didn't trust the bed, so she remained in a small cushioned area beneath a window. She had closed the doors, but kept one hand against her cutlass. Her eyes slowly began to close as she slowly fell victim to the night.
A loud and frantic knock on the door awoke her. She jumped to her feet, gripping the hilt of her cutlass. Slowly Kahlo crept towards the door before opening it, gripping her cutlass tightly only to see a terrified Finnigan.
"Oh." She frowned, slowly sliding her cutlass away.
"Ca-Can I stay in here for tonight? They-They said they were going to kill me" Finnigan stammered, pointing towards the bottom deck.
Kahlo gently began to massage her temples as anger spat through her body. "You awoke me to tell you pirates were being mean and hurting your feelings?"
Finnigan frowned and straightened his posture and stared down at Kahlo, his eyebrows furrowing. "They were threatening me. I didn't feel safe and frankly I don't know much about being a pirate much less fighting. I will surely die if they fight me."
"And that's my problem how?" Kahlo asked, leaning against the door frame, an unimpressed look resting on her face.
"Please- just let me stay in here- I'll sleep on the floor- just anywhere except there." Finn begged, his voice quiet and gentle.
Kahlo groaned and stepped from the door frame indicating he could enter. He quickly bolted inside, a sigh of relief leaving his body. Kahlo cursed under her breath before pulling the door closed. Her eyes slowly trailed towards Finnigan, her hand wrapping around her cutlass.
She knew in one foul swoop he would certainly be dead, then he would no longer be a problem concerning her. Kahlo's mind trailed back to only hours before. He did sort of save her life. Kahlo sighed and removed her hand from her blade. A life for a life.
"Thank you- I-I"
"Shut it." Kahlo interrupted with a glare before returning to her spot on the window seal.
Finnigan quickly nodded before sitting down on the floor. Blood still stained the carpet, blood Finn chose to ignore. He glanced towards Kahlo who seemed fast asleep. He raised an eyebrow and crept closer to her. A strange woman she was. He stared at her, curiosity driving him further. He extended his hand towards her face hesitantly. Suddenly her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.
Kahlo yanked him close to the window, a look of amusement on her face.
"You done?"
"I-I-I thought you-you-"
"Asleep? Yeah, not with a man in here. Bold of you to assume I'd let you have an advantage." Kahlo laughed, shoving his hand away from her.
Finnigan winced, sliding away from her. Kahlo was quick to follow, drawing her cutlass. Finnigan yelped and slid back, pressing his back against the walls.
"Well? Finish what you started. What? Does the sword scare you?" Kahlo laughed swinging the cutlass tauntingly towards him.
"P-Please! D-Don't! I-I didn't mean!" Finnigan stuttered, scrambling around the room.
"Ha! Don't what? Swing too close?" Kahlo laughed, slashing her sword over his head.
Finnigan gasped and covered his neck, begging for mercy.
Kahlo kneeled down in front of him, her hand resting against his back.
"Oh you're fun to tease." Kahlo laughed, sliding her sword back into its sheath.
"W-What?" Finnigan tilted his head up at her words.
"If I were going to kill you, I would've done it immediately. It's just fun to be mean to you." Kahlo rose to her feet, offering her hand out to him.
Finnigan hesitantly took it, as he was pulled up to his feet.
"Now. Let's see what I have to do..." Kahlo frowned, circling him.
"What do you mean? What are you doing?" Finnigan took a step back, his eyebrows furrowing.
"If you're going to be a pirate, you're going to need a bit of work." She rested her hand against her hips as she stared at him.
A look of surprise and utter horror crossed his face. His jaw hung open as he took a step back.
"I-I beg your pardon?" He stammered.
"Well you're a pirate now, so I've somehow got to make you look like one." She replied in a more casual tone.
"I-I-I am no pirate." Finnigan frowned, straightening his posture.
"Last time I checked, you were on a pirate ship, you killed a guy, helped a known pirate captain commandeer a ship, plus helped a convict escape a cell, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're a pirate mate." Kahlo chuckled, a wide grin covering her face.
Finnigan fell to his knees and stared at the floor. "Oh lord... I'm a pirate,"
Kahlo laughed and patted his shoulder, "Heaven forbid!" sarcasm covering her voice.
Finnigan turned and looked up at her, the look of absolute horror still residing. "Y-You don't understand. I-I can't just abandon my life to become a pirate. I-I have my mother and siblings back home. I-I-I have a duty."
"Forget them, and boom. Not a single problem." Kahlo walked back over to the desk, sliding onto the wooden surface.
"I will not forget my family. I never have and never will." Finnigan's voice was firm and surprisingly harsh despite his seemingly weak demeanor.
Kahlo raised an eyebrow before speaking. "Why not? Before you know it, the Brits will get 'em for even knowin' you. Then they'll meet the gallows, leaving you to fend for yourself, alone and afraid."
Finnigan froze at her words, his eyes meeting hers. He opened his mouth to reply but was silenced with her hand.
"I shouldn't have said anything. If you wish to return, I am not obligated to keep you here" She answered, her voice weaker than before.
She glanced at the ground before sliding off of the desk. She walked towards the two doors separating the room from the bed-chamber. Kahlo pulled open the door and stepped inside without another word.
Finnigan stared at the door, not knowing what else to say. Questions filled his mind, questions he knew were not to be answered or asked. Well, at least if he wanted to keep his life. He walked towards the doors, slowly raising his hand to knock. Hesitation followed his actions. He didn't knock. Just waiting. The soft sound of crying could be heard from the other side. Finn froze, not expecting to hear the woman that Kahlo was, to cry.
Finnigan lowered his hand and took in a breath before grasping the door handles. "Kahlo?"
Silence immediately followed. He gulped and began to twist the doorknob, barely poking into the room. He glanced into the room, where Kahlo sat on the floor, holding something in her hand.
"K-Kahlo? You okay?" Finn
She flung the object towards him. A dagger sunk deeply into the door next to his face. The dagger nearly struck his ear, fortunately for Finnigan, his reflexes were mediocre and barely avoided the blade.
"Should I-I just leave?" His voice was quiet as he slid farther from the door.
Kahlo turned her head and glared at him, sending an unspoken reply. Finnigan quickly shut the door behind him, before releasing a long breath, not realizing he had held it. He stood staring back at the large wooden doors. He knew he should've done something to help her, but he just didn't know what. Finn pressed his back against the door before sliding down to the ground. He pressed his head against the back of the door with a quiet sigh.
Finn still needed sleep, and he considered himself a bit safer in the room knowing Kahlo was on the other side of the door. If a problem did arise perhaps she would help him. Was it unlikely? Extremely. Especially after the stunt he had pulled, but hey, hope was better than complete and utter terror. He released a long and tired sigh before allowing his eyes to close as sleep took a victim.
~~~
Kahlo stared down at her hands before looking up towards the door, where the dagger was still lodged. She released a steady breath and untied the wrap around her head, allowing her hair to fall softly to her shoulders. She silently ran her fingers through her tangled hair, lost in her own mind. Kahlo knew she had overreacted, but her own mentality had caused her some distress. Her mind trailed towards her family. Pain bathed in that word. Family. It was something Kahlo longed to have again, even though she would never admit it aloud. The feeling of belonging and love. Knowing someone will always take care of you. Knowing someone will always love you despite your flaws and iniquities. Knowing they'd always be there for you. It was something she had known at one point, but now it was clouded with hatred and disgust.
Kahlo sighed and pulled her shirt over her head, beginning to examine the wounds she had acquired. Dried blood had stained her arm and her shoulder, the wounds still tender. Kahlo gently pressed a hand to her cheek, pain following the ginger pat. She winced and placed a corner of her shirt into her mouth. Kahlo then proceeded to dab at the wounds. She knew they would become infected quite easily, and it was unlikely that this crew had a functioning health system. Kahlo glanced at the door. Finn had helped her when she cut her hand open. Would he know what to do? Kahlo glanced at her arm before cursing. She took her discarded shirt and wrapped it tightly across her chest, ensuring the wounds were visible but nothing else was. After all he was still a man, a weak one, but a man nonetheless.
Kahlo pushed herself to her feet before slowly walking towards the door. She gently tapped it with her hand before slowly opening it. Finnigan almost fell but awoke quickly.
"W-What? Yes?" Finn scrambled to his feet, turning to face her.
Heat rose to his face when he noticed her current attire. A lady wasn't supposed to show her stomach or anything like that to a man. Only the man she would marry. Unless the woman was a lady of the night... Which he doubted Kahlo was. He gulped and quickly turned his head and stared down at the ground.
"I need your..." she pushed out the last word before staring up at him, "help...please"
Finnigan kept his eyes sharply on the ground, trying to help her to preserve her innocence and virtue. "H-How so?"
"You know more about cuts than I do. If I try to do it myself, they might get infected." Kahlo said softly, her voice gentler than she had previously allowed it to be.
Finn stuttered out a reply that was indecipherable.
"Finn."
He glanced up at the sound of his name. It was the first time she had used it, normally it was just insults.
"Please. Then you can go wherever you want. I'm planning on docking at Port Royal. We'll stop for you to get back to your family." Kahlo looked up at him.
He stared back at her before releasing a quiet sigh. "If that is what it shall take, then so be it. I don't want to...tarnish your innocence, this isn-"
"If it wasn't tarnished before, I doubt you helping me will make any difference. After all, it's only skin. You have it, I have it. No difference. You can't even see anything innocence tarnishing. I imagine you will survive." Kahlo motioned to her shirt that she had tied across her chest.
"I-I was talking about your innocen-"
"Sure you were." She chuckled softly with a smile.
He offered her a weak one in return before walking towards the large desk that sat in the middle of the room. He took the small candle that had rested on the top, and after a bit of searching he found a match to light it with. The candle lit up the dark room, illuminating his face. Finnigan then moved on to search through the drawers, hoping this old pirate had something of use in his drawers. A bottle of alcohol rested in one of the drawers. He took it and slid the bottle under his arm before returning to Kahlo. She was sitting on the floor of the bedroom, hugging her knees, murmuring something to herself. Finnigan watched her for a brief moment, she still was a girl. As much as he was terrified of her, she was just a girl. In her weakened state, she seemed smaller and not as threatening. A small smile poked at the side of his mouth as he kneeled down next to her. He wrapped his hand around one of the bedsheets and tore it into a few different pieces.
Kahlo sat up, allowing her knees to rest against the ground as she offered him her arm. Finnigan popped open the bottle of alcohol and dowsed one of the fabric pieces in the strong liquid.
"This is going to hurt." Finnigan said softly, gently taking her arm as he examined the large cut cascading down her arm.
"I'll be fine." Kahlo answered quietly, squeezing her eyes closed.
Finn pressed the wet cloth to the wound. Kahlo yelped as a burning sensation shot through her arm. Pain clouded her sight, well it was pain or tears, whatever it was it didn't feel good. Finn winced at the sound of her pain but continued up her arm, ensuring the alcohol entered her body. Kahlo bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something she would regret. Once he was sure he had cleaned it, Finn began to wrap it. Tight enough to stay in place, but loose enough not to cut off the circulation of her arm. He then moved towards her collarbone. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her to face him.
"Shh... We're almost done. You'll be glad you did it." He said softly before pressing the rag to her collarbone.
She let out a whimper and let her head fall forward. She rested it on his shoulder with a gasp. Finn was surprised by her move but continued. He carefully dabbed the wound, before taking a longer rag and wrapping the wound from underneath her arm to around her neck, ensuring the gash was covered. He gently sat up before taking her face in his hands. He carefully brushed her hair away from her cheek as he examined the one on her face. It cut down from her eyebrow to her cheekbone. She was lucky it barely missed her eye.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you" Finn murmured, gently touching the rag to her face.
Kahlo felt hot tears sting her cheeks. She didn't want Finn to see she was crying, but it was too late. Once the tears arrived, they had no intention of leaving. Finn gently pulled the rag from her face, his finger trailing to an old scar. There were two old and prominent scars on her face. They were sliced in the form of an x. He ran his thumb over them, before glancing at Kahlo.
"What are these from?" He asked softly.
She replied by shaking her head and wiping stray tears from her face. Finn nodded and slowly removed his hands, resting them in his lap. He glanced up at her, unsure how to comfort her in these quiet moments.
"Here. You need some rest, get some sleep. Awake when you're ready." He said softly, pushing himself to his feet.
He gently lifted her, setting her on top of the bed. He offered her a side smile before walking towards the door.
"F-Finn wait." Kahlo said suddenly, her voice breaking.
Finnigan turned back, his hand resting on the door. "Thank you," She said softly.
"You're welcome." He smiled, stepping out of the room.
He gently shut the door and let out a long sigh. He felt his heart pound against his rib cage. He hadn't noticed how fast it had been beating until then. Finn glanced at the door before walking to the windowsill. He sat down on one of the cushions, his mind replaying the minutes they had spent together. An odd girl she was, that was for certain. He yawned and drifted off yet again, happy and safe.